Music History Teacher Resources

For this music worksheet, students learn how Chinese people use music in their festivals. Students read a paragraph explaining why Chinese music uses the pentatonic scale. Students locate 16 words pertaining to Chinese music in a word...

Seventh graders participate in a variety of experiences to investigate the tie between music and history. It combines music history with historical events and includes information about composers and the music that they composed....

In this music worksheet, students discover facts about India's musical history and culture. Students read informative paragraphs and answer 7 questions about India's history and music.

Kids explore music, history, culture, and literature in a multi-faceted lesson plan. They discuss how both historical and cultural contexts shape music, art, and literature, and then apply these concepts as they engage in a listening...

Explore the cultural and religious influences that have shaped music in the Middle East. Classical and traditional music styles are covered in terms of instrumentation and music theory. This slide show would be appropriate for a music...

Jazz, Blue Grass, Hip Hop, Swing. Gospel, R&B, Ragtime, Disco. So many music genres born in the USA. After reading an article about the fate of New Orlean's Jazz after Hurricane Katrina, class members investigate the life cycles of...

Students use their practice book to complete their piano lessons. They examine the history of music and complete pages in a workbook. They create their own music by using the computer.

Students examine artwork by Thomas Hart Benton. In this interdisciplinary instructional activity, students analyze the painting The Sources of Country Music, listen to folk music, and examine how recording technology and the movies...

In this music activity, students read 4 paragraphs of information about music and wars. Students learn the 4 main roles of music in wartime. Students answer 5 questions.

Students examine blues music. In this music genres instructional activity, students discover details about the history of the musical genre and compositional techniques. Students then compose melodies of their own with 12-bar blues chord...

In this music worksheet, students investigate the history of music and the musical style of the Caribbean islands. Students read a 1 page information sheet about the region and its music. Students answer 8 questions.

Learners explore the history of music written during the classical era. They compare the melodic contours of specific thematic music, identifying the trills, slurs and articulations. As a class, students discus the characteristics of...

Ninth graders examine mariachi music and its different musical forms.  In this music history lesson, 9th graders compare and contrast mariachi music from its beginnings to the present.  Students research different aspects of...

Your class will enjoy this presentation, whether or not they are fans of hip hop. It focuses on the trends of hip hop names, discussing the role of cool names and the strong letter k. The slide show could successfully augment a class on...

All you need is love! Find out how The Beatles met, what they recorded, and when they broke up. This resource could be a good way to set the stage or build a context for society in the 1960's and 70's, or as part of a music history lesson.

Create a cross-curricular learning experience based on the children's book Joseph Had a Little Overcoat with this collection of learning activities. Starting with a class reading of the story, children go on to learn about the...

Bass drum, snare drum, tom-toms, cymbals. Perched behind their drum sets, wielding their drum sticks and wire brushes, drummers lay the grove and are the heartbeat of a band's performance. A dynamic activity introduces young musicians to...

Students discuss significant figures in music history and read an article about the Smithsonian's Hip-Hop exhibit. In groups, they develop and curate an exhibition of hip-hop music and history using artifacts that represent relevant...

Fourth graders play a written rhythm pattern. They state when a rhythm pattern varies from a given pattern by listening to an ostinato. They state reasons why people migrate to different lands.

Notes of pride and persecution, exclusion and isolation resonate in flamenco. Introduce this musical art form to your social studies or Spanish language classes with a resource that follows a young flamenco guitarist as he...

Take a quick tour through the last 350 years of music composition with an interactive timeline tool. As learners scroll through the years, they see which composers were born and working during the Baroque, Classical, Romantic, and Modern...

What are the musical elements that characterize a school's fight song or its alma mater? Class members listen to examples of fight songs and alma maters from various schools, play a listening game, and then create a list of the...

Over the course of six lessons, scholars try their hand at composing and dancing after a thorough examination of the famous ballet, The Nutcracker, by Tchaikovsky. Participants watch and discuss the performance of two dances, create...

Considered an American art form, rap has its roots in places from Jamaica to the Bronx. Using a series of readings, comprehension questions, and videos, scholars explore the history of rap and its connections to the African diaspora....